From the Foreword penned by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration: “This booklet has been produced in order to make available a standard form of procedure for Homemakers’ Club meetings, and the constitution it contains was approved by the delegates to the Sixth Annual Convention of Homemakers’ Clubs held at Sarnia, Ontario, in August, 1950.” Prior to setting out the Constitution, By-Laws, and other forms of procedure, a short summary of the history and purpose of the Clubs is given.

The “movement” had its origin in Saskatchewan in 1937, and grew to include Clubs in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba and British Columbia by the time of the publication of this booklet. Far beyond the home, the stated Objectives approved in Sarnia included, inter alia, “To help the aged and less fortunate, and improve living conditions on the Reserve”, and “to discover, stimulate, and train leadership”.

An important document in historical perspective, evidencing elements stereotypical in nature as well as progressive, and significant in reflecting a degree of unity in First Nations communities across the country. The insignia on the front cover shows the head of a native woman, complete with headband and single feather, all within a maple leaf. In later decades, the clubs evolved. In British Columbia this took the form of the Indian Homemakers’ Association formed in 1969. Dr. Rose Charlie, originally from Chehalis, was a driving force behind this change intended to free the groups from dependence upon the Department of Indian Affairs for funding. This organization that became increasingly politically active leading to the loss of its charitable status in the late 1980’s. (The Encyclopedia of British Columbia, Madeira Park, 2000, p. 356; and see the material on the Indigenous Foundations web site at UBC.)